Accustomed to playing “super heroes” this season, like his two successful “buzzer beaters” in 24 hours a little over a month ago, DeMar DeRozan tried everything that night but couldn’t prevent the defeat of his Bulls at home, against Philadelphia (108-119).
Injuries and lack of rotation plague Chicago, which has stagnated for ten games (5v-5d) and returned its first place in the East to Miami. The situation is frustrating for DeMar DeRozan, even if his coach praised his exemplarity despite the difficulty of the situation, with the absence of Zach LaVine in particular, the other offensive leader.
“I caught him during the game, in the fourth quarter, to ask him if he was ok or if he needed a little break”, explained Billy Donovan, DeMar DeRozan averaging more than 40 minutes over the last three games. “He told me he felt good. He is incredible. He came back to play an incredible match in Toronto, then in Indiana where he was very good, and it quickly followed on this match, and to do what he did against Philly with the absentees… I appreciate and really respects what he does and Nikola Vucevic does too. Just for how long they’ve been in the league, and how many times they find themselves with guys who don’t usually play a lot but replace injured people, and see them cheering them on, trying to help them. Leadership-wise, DeMar and Vucevic are exceptional. And for DeMar, it must also be taken into account. He was huge in scoring but also very important in leadership.
Still a little patience
As a good leader, DeMar DeRozan tries to take his troubles patiently, recalling how much the package of all the missing players affects the collective.
“We miss Lonzo Ball, one of the best playmakers in the league, Alex Caruso, one of the best defenders in this league, Patrick Williams, one of the young stars in this league”, did he declare. “We didn’t have those guys. We have them in the squad, and they will come back. We don’t need to worry or stress. Those three, I guarantee every NBA team would love to have them. We’ll get them back and everything will be fine.”
A way also to say that the Bulls do not really need reinforcements as the “trade deadline” approaches or rather that they are simply in the infirmary and that we just have to wait for their return.
“We know we’re going to get everyone back in due time. Until then, we’re just trying to correct our mistakes and stick together. We are holding out for as long as possible until everyone comes back,” he concluded.
Heavy is still on the Bulls’ program with the reception of Phoenix tonight.
| DeMar DeRozan | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2009-10 | TOR | 77 | 22 | 49.8 | 25.0 | 76.3 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 8.6 |
| 2010-11 | TOR | 82 | 35 | 46.7 | 9.6 | 81.3 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 17.2 |
| 2011-12 | TOR | 63 | 35 | 42.2 | 26.1 | 81.0 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 16.7 |
| 2012-13 | TOR | 82 | 37 | 44.5 | 28.3 | 83.1 | 0.6 | 3.3 | 3.9 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 18.1 |
| 2013-14 | TOR | 79 | 38 | 42.9 | 30.5 | 82.4 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 22.7 |
| 2014-15 | TOR | 60 | 35 | 41.3 | 28.4 | 83.2 | 0.7 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 20.1 |
| 2015-16 | TOR | 78 | 36 | 44.6 | 33.8 | 85.0 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 23.5 |
| 2016-17 | TOR | 74 | 35 | 46.7 | 26.6 | 84.2 | 1.0 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 27.3 |
| 2017-18 | TOR | 80 | 34 | 45.6 | 31.0 | 82.5 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 23.0 |
| 2018-19 | SAN | 77 | 35 | 48.1 | 15.6 | 83.0 | 0.7 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 21.2 |
| 2019-20 | SAN | 68 | 34 | 53.1 | 25.7 | 84.5 | 0.7 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 22.1 |
| 2020-21 | SAN | 61 | 34 | 49.5 | 25.7 | 88.0 | 0.7 | 3.6 | 4.3 | 6.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 21.6 |
| 2021-22 | CHI | 48 | 35 | 50.1 | 33.7 | 86.7 | 0.9 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 26.6 |
| Total | 929 | 34 | 46.3 | 28.4 | 83.5 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 3.9 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 20.5 | |
